Borchardbriar Roadmap

So. How did we get here and where are we going?

For the past 2-3 years (do I have longtime readers?) I've been tinkering part time with a Savage Worlds setting called Borchardbriar - a fantasy world of talking animals on perilous adventures and sowing rebellion to overthrow the Fox King Reynard, a grim and terrible monarch. But the pitch wasn't that concise. It hadn't been honed to that razor point.

Stemming from a mash up of  Redwall/Robin Hood + The Old Kingdom + Armello, the summary/pitch meandered and often restated the initial post from May 2017. Trying for a twist on the dark/gritty fantasy settings and stories that have become increasingly popular. And in many ways filling a gap in Savage Worlds' extant settings since Evernight hasn't been updated for a couple of editions.

We even did a podcast mini-series set in this earlier iteration here.

If you listened through the series you'll notice some other influences creeping in, shades of noir like True Detective and Blacksad creeping in. Continued exploration saw bits of Jesse Bullington's Folly of the World (Early Modern period instead of pseudo-medieval), Charles de Lint's Riddle of the Wren (folklore as a window into a mis-remembered past), and Daniel Polansky's The Builders (why you fight) surfacing. At that point I felt ready to start pulling the blogposts and handwritten notes together into something resembling finished work.

However, mapping the older material to Richard Woolcock's Savage Worlds outline showed gaps in the material. Ultimately gaps that were kinda there on purpose. Holes for players and other GMs to fill in, to make their own mark on things. Additionally the scale for Borchardbriar had shifted with SWADE's release. Instead of a paperback, probably a zine. Maybe in time for ZineQuest 2. We'll see.

So what's next for Borchardbriar? How much is being recycled?

Am I reinventing the wheel completely?

Maybe a little bit.

Not to give too much away but, here are the blog posts coming down the pipe:

• Introduction to Borchardbriar - a revised pitch and world overview
• The Furred Folk and Their Kith and Their Kin - how I'm handling different talking animals
• The Way of the World - setting rules new and old, additional edges
• Unseen Principalities and Unclean Spirits - arcane backgrounds and the Watchers
• Odds & Ends - equipment, charms, and superstitions
• The Resistance - a character above your characters
• Conquest of Vittles - hard to rebel on an empty stomach
• We All Lift Together - developing the Resistance
• The Accord - the line that holds us
• Becoming Monsters - when that line breaks
• Clowdertown Blues - The Southern Corner
• How It All Comes Together - session structure
• Smashing of the Van - counterinsurgency, blowback, and other high stakes
• The Hunt - hounded from your boltholes
• Castle Borchardbriar- Reynard's stronghold
• The World Turned Upside Down - The Final Battle
• Hands Raised Against You - foebeasts and the privileged who command them

Borchardbriar: The Resistance

The Resistance
Why do you fight?

Did they snatch your young? Or did your da' take your place? Does a Wyldbreaker lean on you for "protection" money? Are you just trying to make some quick coin? Inspired by an unlikely bard in the public house? Or easing the hurt in the world?

There's a gash in things these days, you can see it with your eyes. Everyone's at least a little hungry. An ache in your stomach spreads through your bones. A weariness you just can't shake like rot on fruit. A grey-green bruise on your soul.

While it might all be falling to pieces 'round our ears, it doesn't have to be.

That's why I fight.

The Means
How does your Cell oppose Reynard's regime? Choose one of the options below: 

• Agitate - Flare tempers.
• Sabotage - Break stuff.
• Liberate - Release folks.
• Terrorize - Sow fear.

When you perform actions in line with your Cell's Means, roll an additional Wild Die. You still use the highest result.

The Network
Who is on your side? Choose 2 of the options below:

• Yasmine - The Gunsmith. Has a new method for creating Salamanderdust she needs to perfect.
• Sebastien - The Patrician. Holds sympathies with the working families who pay most of the Tithe.
• Toni - The Pot-Stirrer. Born under dubious signs, things never go smooth.
• Keith - The Medium. Chased out of Stonebones, he claims to hear the dead.
• Cass - The Raconteur. Spins a yarn so fine the oak tree bends to listen. Wanted for sedition.
• "Lucky" Luci - The Gangleader. Gathered disenfranchised youth for mutual defense.
• "Miss Kitty" - The Madam. Operates a feralhouse where genteel folk can stretch their claws and behave badly.
• Horace - The  Merchant. Snakebite's illegal but that doesn't mean thirst went away.
• Roland - The Stevedore. The biggest paws and the strongest back down on the Docks.
• Aderfi - The Explorer. From the Burning South, been to Manykings and seen the Edge.
• Pedro - The Astronomer. Used to be a navigator but retired from salt spray to soft soil. Owls cluster close.

They will do Minor Favors for you without cost but Major Favors cost Food.


Rep 
Your starting Rep is 0


Resistance 
Your starting Resistance is 0 

Reviewsday: TROIKA! and PROSPECT

Published by the Melsonian Arts Council, TROIKA! is a science fantasy RPG sharing a wavelength with Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion, Book of the New Sun, Vimanarama, Etched City, and the Archive 81 podcast (I’ll talk about these later). Humanity escaped the crushing grasp of Earth’s gravity a long time ago and things have only GOTTEN STRANGER. Bollywood space gods plunging through eldritch portals to explore the crystal spheres are the tip of the weirdo iceberg when you thumb through the randomized backgrounds. Some quick examples – questing knight, cacogen, thaumaturge, rhino-man, and monkeymonger for starters. The setting is filled out and explained in item and background descriptions, in the margins of the text like a Dark Souls or Bloodborne game.

Mechanically speaking, it does everything you want an OSR-style game to do – create tension and sense of danger – and only uses the D6. It also leans on D66 tables which I’m a huge fan of. The most unique design feature is how it handles initiative via a blind grab bag, very similar to the system used in the miniatures game Confrontation. You pull a token from a grab bag and the corresponding character takes their turn, but there’s also an End Turn token so… someone might not get an action that turn.

It’s elegant, it’s pretty, and gets the most out of the book-as-physical-artifact with tables inside the covers.

You can find a no-frills/artless version here under the SRD and a physical copy on Amazon here.

PROSPECT was released earlier this year and it’s a space western focused on activities nearly always overlooked – prospecting, mining, and claim jumping! Not gonna get too deep on this, I’ll just say – if your favorite parts of Ridley Scott films are the world-building via material culture and how the camera feels in the scene then you should carve out the time and watch PROSPECT before the year is over in…
13 days? That sounds about right.

You can watch PROSPECT on Hulu right now.

You can browse the props here and the concept art here.

2019 Gift Guide

Full disclosure: some of the products below were provided by the publisher for review and I contributed to the Tome of Mysteries.

With Christmas around the corner let’s be honest , it can be difficult to shop for us. For as much time and money gamers spend accumulating geegaws: books, maps, miniatures, dice towers, dice trays, dice bags, and, hell, dice in general. Folks outside the Culture are likely not aware of differences between core books and supplements (ex: White Wolf used to publish player’s guides in addition to core rulebooks but the player’s guides weren’t really useful) or which games utilize extra components that are evergreen presents (ex: Savage Worlds’ reliance on playing cards means a cool deck is always welcome). So if you have relatives who don't know what to get you for Christmas or your birthday next year, point them at this.

Gaming Adjacent:

A Dragon Walks Into A Bar by Jef Aldrich & Jon Taylor

Do you like D&D as a core cultural touchstone? Do you like all those D&D-centric episodes of cartoons, sitcoms, and video games?
How about dad jokes?
If you loved Cameron’s sense of humor from the first 3 seasons of Max’s Minions and want it distilled in a book, then this is it. Just released last week, this original work by the hosts of the System Mastery podcast is sure to elicit a chuckle or guffaw from your friends or loved ones who are into this sorta thing.And it’s not just a book of jokes, there’s some tables useful sidebars which impart information or insight into this weird, young hobby we all participate in.

Here’s a good joke:

Where would you find a blink dogs?
About three feet to the right of where you left them.

Because they.. teleport…
never mind.

The Ultimate RPG Gameplay Guide & The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide by James D’Amato

Covering both of these at once because they contain complementary materials. If you regularly GM the Gameplay Guide provides advice for effective preparation and communication with your players to lean into engagement, exploring themes, and maximizing the stuff your group wants to see at the table. James’ thoughtful essays ring with his experience both as a Second City trained improviser and GM/producer for one of the top Actual Play podcast networks around. The book’s exercises, worksheets, and prompts help you (the GM) with praxis – walking the walking, applying the ideas and shaping table behaviors so you get the best out of yourself and your players.

Conversely, if you’re on the other side of the GM Screen 9 times out of 10 then the Backstory Guide provides prompts and exercises rooted in improv theater that prompts new ways of thinking and applying the most staid and dullest part of character creation – the backstory. The book’s organization is divided into echelons corresponding to character level, over time you develop themes and motifs to form a throughline. Enabling your GM to bring these elements into focus. Something you can hear James do on his current Campaign podcast – Skyjacks.

Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master by Michael Shea

The title directly addresses the 400 lbs. gorilla in the RPG scene but embodies a solid thesis usable in any game – YOU (the GM) will never be as creative as all of THEM (your players), so pull a Tom Sawyer and get them to paint the fence for you. Distribute the cognitive workload.

With great advice, pertinent examples, and checklists this book doesn’t provide as many hand’s on applications as the Gameplay Guide. Instead Return dwells in greater specificity on its topics, whether pros & cons to different styles of combat or conveying the value of reskinning existing monsters instead of creating ones from wholecloth. If The Ultimate RPG Gameplay Guide sounded too hippie-dippie to you then Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master occupies a cozier middle ground.

Games and Game Accessories:

Savage Worlds Adventure Edition by Shane Hensley

The latest edition of our (Carol and I) favorite game dropped back in September and you can get this gorgeous hardcover for only $30. A more in depth review can be found over on Tommy Brownell’s blog over here and I’ll do my own dissection and discussion of the text for the benefit of folks who’ve never played Savage Worlds before at a later time. This thing is the real deal, people often complain about carrying around too many books and D&D is a $150 buy-in for the 3 core rulebooks.

What takes D&D 3 bloated books, Savage Worlds does in 1 sleek volume for 20% of the price.

Monster of the Week by Michael Sands & The Tome of Mysteries by Michael Sands and assorted authors (including me)

Tired of dungeon delving and want to do something else? Love weekly procedural shows but aren’t sure how to get that to the table?

Then Monster of the Week and it’s companion volume have got you covered. Based on the popular Apocalypse Engine you’ll only need to print out the playbooks and 2 six-sided dice to start playing. Character creation is fast and let’s you hit the table running in interesting directions, you’ll have a game full of interesting conflicts and complications in no time.

And, yea, mysteries are hard but there’s a WHOLE TOME OF THEM! Want more Fringe and less Supernatural? The Tome of Mysteries has that too! It’s covers a lot of ground very quickly with scenario seeds, additional playbooks, a ton of sample mysteries, and custom moves you can re-work for your own game. And if you’re doing Call of Cthulhu or another investigation game then use the sample mysteries anyway so you can still inject some weirdness without it necessarily being the Usual Suspects (Cthulhu, Dagon, Yog-Sothoth, etc).

 Dice from Metallic Dice Games

You might think any set of clack-clack stones are the same as any other but if you ask Carol or Larissa or any other person with the dice fever, you’ll find you’re wrong. Can’t go wrong buying more dice, and I recommend Metallic Dice Games’ products, they’re lustrous and have nice hand feel. They have some great color combinations and they’re timely with their deliveries. Their latest kickstarter arrived a little earlier than estimated, a far cry from the Kraken Dice fiasco earlier this year.

Review: Black Leopard, Red Wolf & Dirge of Urazya

When it was first announced, Black Leopard, Red Wolf was billed an “African Game of Thrones”. The go-to byline for any fantasy series with epic scale promising grit, violence, and realpolitik in contrast to the “pastoral” popular perception of mainstream fantasy. A wrongheaded comparison on multiple levels that we don’t have time or space for today (catch me on the Discord). That sales pitch missed the mark even though it drummed up interest in Black Leopard, Red Wolf prior to release. What arrived was far stranger, denser, wondrous, and more surreal than Game of Thrones and most fantasy novels on the shelf.
What starts as a straightforward testimony from a simple spoken narrator paints a lurid picture of the Kingdoms, their struggles, and the violence in all the spaces in between. Nested narratives lead to a Rashomon labyrinth of perspectives and conflicting account. Planting and watering seeds of doubt regarding Tracker, the protagonist, and his veracity even though he says from the beginning: “The child is dead. There is nothing left to know.”

Know this: Tracker has a dog’s nose and won’t lead you astray.

Dirge of Urazya is a zine by Jack Shear of Dolorous Exhumation Press and Tales of the Grotesque & Dungeonesque fame. After making a splash in the RPG scene with his 13 Flavors of Fear, Jack has built a reputation for the lurid, the blasphemous, and the weird with each subsequent release from demonic Western to Gothic blood opera. While most of his work runs 100+ pages, Dirge of Urazya is on the opposite end at a sleek 24 and I love its brevity.

While Umberwell details an Industrial urban hellscape rich with grime, Dirge offers a lean set of prompts so your whole group can create the Gothic, Western, post-apocalyptic, science fantasy world promised by Netflix’ Castlevania (which I swear is Warren Ellis’ Vampire Hunter D fanfiction) and Into The Badlands (Danny Wu’s post-apocalypse wuxia western also available on Netflix). The PDF is only $4.00 (currently on sale for $2.68) and offers far more in value. I recommend pretty much everything he’s written, Jack’s name on a title is a stamp of quality and weirdness you shouldn’t overlook.

Jack provided a good overview of Dirge's development and assembly here and I'll similarly follow that roadmap with my own creative projects in the future.

Review: Codex Dark 2 and Doom Patrol

 Codex is a monthly pdf zine published by The Gauntlet, a roleplaying community and podcast network. Codex is an anthology of small RPGs, supplementary materials, and miscellany centered around a particular theme that has been tied together with use of a color palette and clever graphic design. The free sample issue rotates, and this month's issue is a really good one, so grab it while you can because the games are delightful.

The star of the current is Ghost Drums, a short horror game by Gerrit Reininghaus inspired a Guatemalan ghost story. I can't really say anything else about it without giving away too much, but I am hyped to run this with the Minions in the future and, hopefully, turn it into a limited series podcast. This issue also has the rules for Trophy and a sample adventure, a dark fantasy game about flint-eyed scoundrels plunging into a wilderness that doesn't want them there and won't let them leave. Think of it as what might happen if your OSR play-through of Keep on the Borderlands turned into the Texas Chainsaw Massacre about two-thirds of the way through. Trophy also echoes the thesis of our current limited-series, Tales from the Old Man's Bar™, Don't be surprised if you see Trophy show up on our feed down the line as well.

Both games highlight a subtle shift in design philosophy: rather than playing to find out what happens, the party is playing to find out how it happens. The ending is never in doubt - you're all going to end up turned into sausage; however, the shape and texture of the grinder is flexible. Do you end up bratwurst or chorizo? I expect we'll see more horror games take similar approaches going forward because a strong framework provides a solid foundation for play.

UPDATE: Codex Dark 2 is no longer the freely available issue. Now it's Codex Gold which contains the rules for Trophy Gold. Also an excellent game, which can be found here.

In a similar vein, our present saturation of superhero stories reveals a rhyming pattern - the heroes will triumph at the end but how they'll triumph is the real question. Do they lose a loved one? Do they sacrifice themselves? Does a city get leveled? Do they find family along the way? DC Universe's Doom Patrol takes advantage of our foreknowledge to get weird - like really weird. If you're familiar with the Patrol, then that shouldn't come as a surprise to you. However, if you're new to the team, buckle up.

The show makes nods to the larger DC Universe, but quickly leaves the familiar world of flying strongmen and billionaire vigilantes behind in favor of extra-dimensional snow globes, doomsday prophet cockroaches, boys from Brazil, and a sentient street. Despite the high weirdness, though, the show doesn't divorce or alienate the characters from their humanity. If anything, the intense contrast heightens their all-too human frailties resulting in a satisfying drama.

Anyway, I know people hate spoilers so I'll just say this - Doom Patrol has consistently been one of my favorite comics and the show does not disappoint.

Check it out when you get the chance!
 

14_M4NCH4: A Techno Thriller Framework

"Give a man a gun and he can rob a bank, but give a man a bank, and he can rob the world." - Tyrell Wellick, Mr. Robot

Five minutes in the future, traditional employment is a relic of the past as the atomized job ecology of gigs, jobshares, and mechanical Turks eroded the static workforce. Nothing else really changed because you still need money to survive and to get it you have to hustle the skittle-colored carousels. Renting out slivers of your life to cover the bare essentials - food, water, and rent - as an independent contractor. Time is money made manifest. An endless grind that leaves you exhausted and alienated from your work, your community, and your time.

This is where 14_M4NCH4 (pronounced "La Mancha") comes in.

14_M4NCH4, inspired by the Occupy movement, mostly pays people to congest places of power like banks, corporate/consulate lobbies, and police stations. The pay is a lot better than most gigs and at minimum you just take up space for a couple hours in air conditioned buildings, a DDoS attack in real life. Of course, if you're willing to take risks then the payout rises commensurately with risk keen contractors accruing ranking and supplementary tasks tailored to their skills, forming action groups with similarly ranked individuals to perform some larger goal under cover of a mass demonstration. Could be picking safety deposit boxes full of dirty money clean, destroying or extracting consular data, planting false evidence, returning grifted wealth from big bank accounts, or disrupting an electronic system on-site as part of a larger plan. Some of these spontaneous groups crystallize into full fledged crews and adopting their own agendas separate from the app, while others split up as soon as payment hits.

So. Who's behind the gig sit-ins and high tech Robin Hooding? Who can say? I've got three suggestions:

1) The center of the onion is hollow and the app is on autopilot, forming action groups to foment chaos with no big picture. Maybe the characters step into the vacuum and bend the extensive network of contractors to their own aims.

2) There's a criminal conspiracy at the heart of 14_M4NCH4, using the app and its gigs to create distractions as well as recruiting and vetting future members.

3) The app is actually the human interface for an Awakened collection of marketing and inventory programs used for consumer analysis. They're everywhere, watching and analyzing every aspect of our lives. Engineering exciting news to influence consumer behavior.

A 14_M4NCH4 heist would utilize Wine & Savages' Scheme Pyramid (full disclosure: I playtested those rules and did some proofreading on it) intercut with a Mass Battle (pg. 131) of public opinion using Persuasion and other social skills instead of Battle. With the police breaching the location if the Mass Battle goes poorly. Or just fold police negotiation into Pyramid itself if you like. A longer campaign would operate West Marches style with a potpourri of different characters coming together to do jobs that intersect with the tentacles of a larger, opposed conspiracy.

Inspirado: Sorry To Bother You, Die Hard, Inside Man, Casa De Papel, Mr. Robot, Payday 2, Hong Kong Protestors, The Red Trilogy by Linda Nagata, The Centenal Cycle by Dr. Malka Older, One Thousand Beetles In A Jumpsuit by Dominica Phetteplace, Genocide & Juice by The Coup, Invaders from Mars by Charles Stross,  2013 - 2014 Bank Robberies,